Submersible pump adapter

ABSTRACT

A submersible pump adaptor is provided for supporting the weight and torque of the pump at any prescribed depth along the length of a well casing. The adaptor comprises a threaded actuator shaft having a pair of well casing engaging shoes or holding elements mounted thereon by means of a pair of collars movable along the shaft so as to direct the shoes toward and away from the wall of the well casing. Each collar is provided with extensions having sloping surfaces in mating engagement with like surfaces on each of the shoes so that, as the collars are moved toward each other, the shoes are made to expand. The adaptor shaft is interconnected with the pump shaft in a manner whereby the holding engagement of the shoes is increased by the torque of the pump shaft.

United States Patent [72-] Inventor HarryWall Henderson, Nebr. 68371 [21] AppLNo. 844,512

Primary Examiner- James A. Leppink Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [22] Filed July 24,1969 [45] Patented Mar. 16,1971

V n n0 fled mww wn mmmwim d d ran aca afe l oregs m ohoe nn d e IS h n8 W t. C m Ta e a CnU m.pm .mh e TZA g t. d PU nS H 1 116 m D..m o noh r c 6 0 w h m w an no y mw wh a m re :1 elprv mfl W0 dw Ph h v w ABSTRACT: A submersihle pump ada supporting the weight and tor prescribed depth along the lengt tor comprises a threaded actuator shaft havin casing engaging shoes or holdin by means of a pair of collars mo direct the shoes toward and away from the 217 ing. Each collar is provided with extensions having sloping surfaces in mating engagement with like surfaces 0 shoes so that, as the collars are moved toward each othe shoes are made to expand. The ada 166/206 with the pump shaft in a manner 166/206 ment of the shoes is increased by the tor [54] SUBMERSIBLE PUMP ADAPTER 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl.......

[51] Int.

[50] Field ofSearch........................

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,406,350 2/1922 Corrigan......................

1,880,218 10/1932 Simmons..............,.......

PATENTED MARI 6 0n sum 1 or 2 A. w w

fllu/ivi /M//vr0/2 weer M4444 3) Z/a/w, dagfwll #10444 ATTORNEYS PATENT ED MAR 1 s 1971 SHEET 2 OF 2 lo 000 0 o 0 o O O O O M Zw/w, 44 W ATTOF/VEYS SUBMERSHBLE PUMP AD ER This invention relates generally to submersible pumps and more particularly to an adapter for such pump capable of supporting the weight and torque thereof at any desired depth within a well casing.

During use of the common water pump in extracting water from a ground well, the pump is usually placed within a well casing and submerged below the water level of the well. The pump is normally inserted within the well casing by means of an attached conduit which extendsup through the top of the well for both stabilizing the pump and for piping water from the well. By reason of a rotary movement of the pump incident to a torque arising from its pumping action, the metal pipe is caused to deteriorate and weaken atits jointed connections especially in the extremely deep well requiring the use a continuous plastic or other flexible pipe which would significantly extend the life of the conduit without periodic replacement. However, use of the plastic or similarly constructed piping is not feasible because of the weight of the pump and the torque occasioned by the pumping action which would only place an undue strain on the plastic conduit and require as frequent a replacement as with the metal piping. By supporting the weight of the pump and providing a means for resisting the torque of the pump, the more acceptable plastic tubing is rendered more practical for use with the submersible pump. Devices for anchoring submersible pumps are somewhat available but, because of their inability to be easily inserted within the well casing and because of their tendency to dislodge themselves from their anchored position during the pumping action, these devices have not met with widespread success. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an anchoring device or adapter for a submersible pump which is not only easily insertable within the well casing at any desired depth but is capable of increasing its holding engagement with-the well casing after being positioned within the well.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adapter for a submersible pump having shoes or holding elements which can be expanded into a gripping engagement with the well casing by means of a simple installation wrench which is removed before the pump is lowered into place on the adapter.

A further object of the instant design is to provide an adapter for a submersible pump wherein the adapter has a threaded actuator shaft extending through a pair of collar members in engagement with the holding element so that, as the shaft is rotated, the collars are moved along the shaft toward and away from each other thereby moving the holding elements toward and away from the shaft and into and out of engagement with the wall of the well casing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an adapter as characterized wherein the shaft is connected with the pump shaft so that any torque arising incident to the pumping action will tend to further rotate the adapter shaft and further expand the holding elements into a tighter engagement with the wall of the well casing.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an adapter as described wherein the holding elements are interconnected by means of flexible bands and each of the collars has arms extending into engagement with guideways provided on the holding elements, the end surfaces of the arms and the guideways sloping inwardly toward the shaft and toward each other so that movement ofthe collars toward each other will expand the holding elements toward the wall of the well casmg.

A. still further object of this invention is to provide an adapter as defined wherein the adapter shaft is hollow at one end and is provided with a keyway for the reception of the installation wrench and for the support of the adapter by the wrench during installation.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, showing the adapter secured in place in a well casing;

HO. 2 is an exploded view of the submersible pump, connector and installation wrench;

FIG. 3 is a slightly enlarged exploded view in side elevation, partly broken away, showing the details of the adapter and a pump connector to be secured thereto;

H6. 43 is an end view taken substantially along the line M of FIG. 3; and

H6. 5 is a side elevational view partly in sections showing the assembled pump, adapter and connectors within the well casing.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the adapter 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in place within well casing ll by means of a tool or installation wrench 12. The adapter is lowered within the well casing below the waterline W. Before the pump is lowered into position, a connector 13, shown more clearly in FIG. 2, is first attached to the upper portion 14 of the adapter so as to provide a frictional connection between the two members. A key portion 15 on the inner wall of the connector 13 is mated with a slot 16 on the adapter portion 14 (see FIG. 4 for a clear showing of the slot 16) so that rotation of the connector 13 will be transmitted directly to an actuator shaft 17 of which the portion 141 forms a part thereof. The top portion 14 forms a shoulder as at 18 with a smooth peripheral portion 19 of the shaft 17. A first or upper collar 21, having an inner diameter approximately equal to the outer diameter of the smooth portion 19, is maintained in abutting relationship with the shoulder 19 as shown in FIG. 2. A second, or lower, internally threaded collar member 22 is threadedly engaged with the externally threaded portion of the actuator shaft 17 so that, upon rotation thereof, collar 22 is made to move toward and away from collar 21.

With specific reference to FIG. 3, it can be seen that a pump P is provided which is of standard construction and of the type normally used as a submersible pump except that a plastic or other nonmetallic flexible hose 23 may be used in place of the metallic conduit heretofore required. The pump P is provided with a pump connector 24 secured to the pump shaft 25 as by any conventional means such as setscrews (not shown) or the like. The lower end 42 of the pump connector 24 may be of hexagonal shape so as to conveniently mate with'a hexagonal inner wall of the connector 13 when the pump and its attached pump connector 24 are lowered within the well casing ll, as shown completely assembled in FIG. 5.

in order to anchor the pump within the well casing at some desired depth therein, the adapter i0 is provided with a pair of shoes or holding elements 27 having a roughened or gripping outer surface 28 for the purpose of increasing the frictional holding ability of the shoes with the inner wall of the casing. Each of these shoes is provided with an inwardly extending guidemember 29 having a guideway 31 at each end thereof sloping inwardly and toward each other. A rubber or similar type of band member 32, extending between the guide members 29 about a pair of studs 33thereon (see FlG. 4), urge guide members 29 toward each other. ln order to move the shoes 27 away from each other, each of the collar members 21 and 22 is provided with a pair of outwardly extending arms 34 each having inwardly sloping surfaces at their outer ends so as to mate with and slide along the sloping surfaces of the guideways 31. Accordingly, as the collar member 22 moves toward the collar 21, the sloping surfaces on each collar arm slides along its associated guideway 31 thereby urging the shoes 27 outwardly away from each other and in engagement with the inner wall of the well casing 11.

in order to lower the adapter and its connector 13 within the casing, an installation wrench or tool 12 is used which has a transverse pintle 35 near one end thereof. The portion 19 of the actuator shaft is hollow as at 3,6 and is provided with opposite grooves 37, as shown in FIG. 4, for the reception of each end of the pintle 35. As clearly shown in H0. 2, the end of each groove 37 terminates in a bayonet-type slot 38 so that 22 upwardly and the shoes 27- outwardly, the pintle 35 is forced against the wall 41 of each bayonet slot on opposite sides of the portion 19. Continued rotation of the tool 12 thereby serves to rotate the shaft 17 and so as to firmly anchor the adapter within the well casing. The pump P, along with its attached connector 24, is then lowered into the well casing until the portions 42, 43 are mated with one another into its final position as shown in FIG. 5. With this type of arrangement, any rotary movement of the pump incident to torque arising from its pumping action, will be transmitted to the actuator shaft of the adapter so that the shoes 27 will only be further expanded away from each other and into further gripping engagement with the inner wall of the well casing.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that simple and economic yet extremely practical device has been provided for anchoring a submersible pump within a well casing so as to support the weight and torque thereof in a manner whereby any loosening of the adapter is effectively lessened. Also, plastic hoses or conduits are possible with the present device because the pump is now supported from below rather than from above the well and the more desirable and less corrosive plastic tubing is more readily usable.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

lclaim:

1. An adapter for a submersible pump comprising, an actuator shaft, first and second collar members on said shaft movable toward and away from one another, an opposed pair of holding elements, means both interconnecting said holding elements directly to one another and causing said elements to be moved toward one another, and cooperating means on each of said collar members and said holding elements for permitting said holding elements to move away from said shaft and toward one another with the assistance of said interconnecting means as said collar members are moved toward and away from each other.

2. The adapter according to claim 1 wherein said shaft is fully rotatable within said first collar member so that said movement of said holding elements is occasioned by said second collar member moving toward and away from said first collar member.

3. The adapter according to claim 2 wherein said cooperating means comprises a pair of arms on each of said collar members each in engagement with a guideway on each of said holding elements whereby said holding elements may slide with relation to said collar element arms during movement of said collar elements toward and away from each other.

4. The adapter according to claim 3 wherein each pair of said guideways on each of said holding elements are inwardly sloping towards said shaft and toward one another, and the end surfaces of each of said arms also sloping in the same direction as its respective guideway.

5. The adapter according to claim 4 wherein said interconnecting means comprises resilient band members, said holding elements moving away from one another against the action of said bands and toward one another with the assistance of said bands.

6. The adapter according to claim 5 wherein said shaft is provided with a shoulder portion above said first collar member against which said first collar member abuts by reason of said resilient band members.

7. The adapter according to claim 6 wherein said shaft and said second collar member are threadedly engaged so that, upon rotation of said shaft, said second collar member may move toward and away from said first collar member.

8. The adapter according to claim 7 wherein a connector is provided on the shoulder portion end of said shaft for the reception of one end of the pump.

9. The adapter according to claim 8 wherein said shaft is partially hollow and is provided with a tool receiving keyway for the rotation of said shaft in either direction. 

1. An adapter for a submersible pump comprising, an actuator shaft, first and second collar members on said shaft movable toward and away from one another, an opposed pair of holding elements, means both interconnecting said holding elements directly to one another and causing said elements to be moved toward one another, and cooperating means on each of said collar members and said holding elements for permitting said holding elements to move away from said shaft and toward one another with the assistance of said interconnecting means as said collar members are moved toward and away from each other.
 2. The adapter according to claim 1 wherein said shaft is fully rotatable within said first collAr member so that said movement of said holding elements is occasioned by said second collar member moving toward and away from said first collar member.
 3. The adapter according to claim 2 wherein said cooperating means comprises a pair of arms on each of said collar members each in engagement with a guideway on each of said holding elements whereby said holding elements may slide with relation to said collar element arms during movement of said collar elements toward and away from each other.
 4. The adapter according to claim 3 wherein each pair of said guideways on each of said holding elements are inwardly sloping towards said shaft and toward one another, and the end surfaces of each of said arms also sloping in the same direction as its respective guideway.
 5. The adapter according to claim 4 wherein said interconnecting means comprises resilient band members, said holding elements moving away from one another against the action of said bands and toward one another with the assistance of said bands.
 6. The adapter according to claim 5 wherein said shaft is provided with a shoulder portion above said first collar member against which said first collar member abuts by reason of said resilient band members.
 7. The adapter according to claim 6 wherein said shaft and said second collar member are threadedly engaged so that, upon rotation of said shaft, said second collar member may move toward and away from said first collar member.
 8. The adapter according to claim 7 wherein a connector is provided on the shoulder portion end of said shaft for the reception of one end of the pump.
 9. The adapter according to claim 8 wherein said shaft is partially hollow and is provided with a tool receiving keyway for the rotation of said shaft in either direction. 